GTC is sometimes deemed "inauthentic" because, like chop suey and egg food yung, it was not born in China. GTC was invented in the United States, New York specifically, sometime in the 70s. All of which makes some recent charges of cultural appropriation seem a sterling example of uninformed outrage. As reported in the Oberlin Review:

Dear Prudence probably thinks the GTC she enjoyed as a child is the one and true authentic version of the dish.

GTC is a traditional Chinese-American food, and it's fair to say that the version served at New Star in Elmwood park is "authentic" to the extent that it reflects that recent tradition.

Alas, for me, GTC is not very good: it's too fried, too gravy-gloppy, too sweet, too one-dimensional. This is not at all a criticism of New Star, which does a credible rendition of the dish. And the price is right; at lunchtime, for under $10 (tax included), you get soup, eggroll containing requisite peanut butter, main course with rice, tea and de rigueur almond and fortune cookies, a very good deal. We like New Star, but we don't ever need to order GTC again. There are many better things to eat there (we like the chicken chow mein).

At New Star, you're also served a bowl of fried wonton strips…with, unexpectedly, a kind of fried donut on top. Looking around the restaurant at lunchtime, I noticed a group of kids eagerly eating their fried donuts, which I've never before seen served in a Chinese restaurant, either in the US or in China. When these kids grow up and go out to eat, they may perhaps deem it "inauthentic" if a Chinese restaurant doesn't serve the donuts they so enjoyed, as kids, at New Star. That's how food traditions and perceptions of authenticity begin.

Love the Journal?

Become our partner in independent community journalism

Thanks for turning to Wednesday Journal and RiverForest.com. We love our thousands of digital-only readers. Now though we're asking you to partner up in paying for our reporters and photographers who report this news. It had to happen, right?

On the plus side, we're giving you a simple way, and a better reason, to join in. We're now a non-profit -- Growing Community Media -- so your donation is tax deductible. And signing up for a monthly donation, or making a one-time donation, is fast and easy.

No threats from us. The news will be here. No paywalls or article countdowns. We're counting on an exquisite mix of civic enlightenment and mild shaming. Sort of like public radio.